Flying With Dragons
by YoungCat
Summary: Young Johnathan stumbles into a world of magic; talking cats, hideous monsters, and magical houses. He does not realize that he's falling deeper down the rabbit hole, he doesn't know his own fate, and the destiny that has been given to him. Cover art by me, if you would like to see the full-ish cover, you can see it on my deviantart @ ChubbySiren
1. Awkward party and the Talking Cat

Never one for conflict, young Jonathan tended to keep his head down in crowds. He felt so awkward around kids his age. While the others were giggling in small groups, he was sitting in the corner, petting the family cat. Jonathan had been forced by his mother to go to this party; of course, he knew that she just wanted the best for him. She had known that he didn't have many friends, well actually, none at all.

And as awkward as he felt, he did find himself enjoying the spectacle before him; seventh graders laughing at lewd jokes that the younger kids didn't understand yet. Young girls trying to show off what they obviously didn't have. And even a few kids like himself; alone, in corners, trying to be invisible. The sleek, black cat on his lap purred at his touch, and had its keen eyes glued to his face.

Looking at the name tag, he found that the cat's name was Isis. Smiling to himself, he told Isis, "Nice name you got there." His smile quickly vanished when a voice in his head replied.

"Thanks, it is pretty amazing." Eye widening, he looked around to see if anyone was near him. Jonathan had sworn that he just heard a teenage girl's voice. Someone much older than the middle school crowd he was with. Noticing that the purring had stopped, he looked down at Isis. Her intense, golden eyes stared into his light brown ones.

"Was that you?" He whispered, so as not to seem crazy. With an amused tilt of her head, he could swear that she had smiled.

"Well, it definitely wasn't a mouse." The boy jumped up from his seat, dropping the cat. With a hiss, she said, "Now then, don't be rude!" He backed into the corner, until he noticed people were starting to stare at him. They whispered to each other.

"What a freak,"

"What's wrong with the short kid?"

"Must be afraid of kitty cats," He heard chuckles, and malicious snickers. This is why he didn't like crowds; everyone would eventually end up hating, teasing, and ridiculing him. Feeling his face heat up with angry tears, he stormed out of the room to the front yard. The cold air bit at his ears, and chilled his heated, tear streaked face. His mother had always told him that he got too emotional over little things.

"Are you okay?" He heard the voice again. Turning, he saw Isis sitting on the porch, head tilted to the side, tail swishing. His mouth fell open; he had to be crazy. As he was about to turn and run, he heard a sharp, "Wait!" That stopped him in his tracks. He could hear the little jingle from the bell on her collar. "You can hear me, I know you can. I just need to tell you something." The voice was so earnest, and so sincere that he looked down at the little cat.

"What is it?" He said in apprehension. Sitting on her hind quarters, she closed her eyes, and began to glow. Stumbling backwards at the bright light, he gasped in alarm. Waves of rainbow light emitted off of her black fur. It was like a spider web like nebula was covering her small frame until she was completely incased in a cocoon of stars.

The cocoon started to morph, forming a larger, more human shape. Jonathan couldn't look away; the sight was both terrifying and beautiful. The starlit form shook its head, and like cobwebs, the layer of stars fell off into waves of rainbow mist. In its place was a girl about seventeen or eighteen. Her hair was a deep, universe black, and her skin had a golden glow. She looked exotic, and beautiful. Jonathan blushed at the sight of her; having to look up at her, since his eleven year old body was so short.

A pair of velvet soft, black ears were perched on her head, and twitched towards hidden creatures. As her eyes opened, he gasped. They were golden, bright, and had an array of stars and wisdom. But they were so familiar.

"Isis?" The girl looked down on him, and he could feel the heat of her stare through his clothing. She smiled at him, showing off some wickedly sharp teeth. Those made him hesitate a bit. But her smile quickly faded.

"Come with me," She said sprinting off. He was so distracted by her face, that he hadn't noticed that she was nude. He quickly looked away, face aflame. Taking off the large sweater he had been wearing, he held it out. Stopping to look at him, she didn't seem bothered by her nakedness. Though realizing that perhaps he was a bit young, she thanked him and slipped it on. It didn't help very much.

She sprinted off again. Gulping down his fear, confusion, and apprehensions, he chased after her, unknowing to the adventure that lies before him.


	2. Meeting fate and Flying High

The road they were running on was almost pitched black, however Isis seemed to know exactly where she was going. Jonathan struggled to keep up with the beautiful cat girl. He thought that he could stay with her, until she started jumping the stone fences near the end of his town. Immediately impacting with the first wall, he lost his breath.

"Why am I following her," he asked himself. Breathing hard, he slid his back down the cold, bumpy stone. The cold autumn air filled his lungs, and chapped his face. Running a shaky hand through his windblown curls, the young boy closed his eyes to rest. A jingling of bells interrupted his calm meditation. Perched on the wall above him was Isis, golden eyes aglow.

"What do you think you are doing?" She asked, not exactly annoyed, but you could never tell with cats. Jonathan had to stifle a manic giggle; he was finding this both hilarious and unbelievable. When his eyes drifted close again, he heard something land in front of him. Then a pair of small, but strong hands grasps his waist.

Jonathan was hefted into the air, and thrown over Isis's shoulder.

"Hey," he yelled, "put me down!" The older girl just laughed at him. He stifled a scream as she vaulted over walls with the simplest of ease. Eventually the town's houses had smoothed into farm land, and the farm land burst into forest. He knew these woods, him and his older brother would dare each other to go in alone. It was a dark, mysterious forest, thick with tress, and full of dangerous creatures. Not even the adults would venture in. But Isis strode towards the forest as if it were a pub on Friday night.

"No, it's dangerous in there!" He struggled to get off of her. With an elegant roll of her shoulders, he tumbled onto the ground with a thump. Casting a vicious glare towards the golden girl, his anger soon turned to worry at the sight of her face. Her eyes were laced with sadness, and her face was strained with yearning. Her intense gaze was fixed onto some unseen force in the seemingly empty woods. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly, watching her.

"I lost my lover in these woods." He was shocked by the callous tone of her voice. It must have horrible. "But that was many years ago, in my first life." Walking away, she left him with a sense of mystery and foreboding. Standing, young Jonathan followed her, not wanting to be left alone. He had never entered the forest, even when his brother had dared him. He would just hide behind the large bolder near the edge.

This time, Isis walked. She was keeping a steady pace, and he was a little ways behind her. Jonathan found himself jumping at every shadow and noise. He let out a small cry when a large owl swooped just above his head.

"Be calm," She whispered, "We are nearly there." He wanted to ask exactly where they were going, but a small voice in his head told him it would be better not to know. The forest seemed to close around them; vines of ivy tangled his limbs. Isis was slicing them with her claws, which he noticed can retract. The light seemed to be void in certain areas of the forest.

Jonathan swore that he could see things moving, but they didn't move like animals. What he thought was an insect, flew towards him, and with a swipe of his hand, he sent it flying in the opposite direction. Looking at his palm, he saw it covered in a purplish, shimmering powder. He thought sadly to himself that he must have hit a butterfly. Though, he did notice that when he hit the creature, Isis let out a little chuckle.

Isis suddenly stopped, causing Jonathan to crash into her back.

"Hold," she said in a harsh whisper. He peeked over shoulder to see what she had been looking at so intensely. What he saw was almost too much for him; it was a campsite, but that wasn't the part that freaked him out. In the camp were creatures so hideous that he couldn't handle to look at them directly. They were hauling weapons that he couldn't identify. And amongst the grotesque creatures, was a boy.

The boy looked to be around Jonathan's age, though unlike his dark curls and dark eyes, this boy had long, straight, platinum blonde hair. And when the boy turned his eyes to one of the creatures, Jonathan saw that they were a frightening color of electric blue. Isis let out a low growl at the sight of the boy. Jonathan nervously looked at her back. Thinking in his head, hoping that he could hear him he thought.

"What are we going to do?" She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, and slightly turned her head until her golden eyes were staring at her face.

"We're going to have to go around them," She thought back, then paused as if she were thinking of something. "You're too loud though, get on my back." Crouching down, she gestured for Jonathan to place his arms around her neck. Though he had a small issue with climbing onto a half-naked girl's back, he decided that the creatures were a bigger problem.

Quietly holding onto her shoulder, she hefted him up and started to run. Even with the added weight, she moved through the forest like a fish through water. He couldn't even hear her footsteps. But she wasn't silent enough; he heard a horrible, inhuman shriek, and Isis cursed under her breath. Jonathan could hear something coming from behind them, and when he turned he almost cried out in fear.

The boy that he had seen was riding on one of the creatures, and was catching up to them fast. The other monsters were chasing them on foot, so they lagged behind. Isis decided that speed was a bit more important than stealth. Taking a giant leap, she dug her toes into the damp earth, and pushed off at full speed; she was like a spring. Her legs pumped from the effort, but Jonathan could tell that she was enjoying this run. Turning to see if the boy was still behind them, he was surprised to see him falling behind.

Jonathan was about to burst into a shout of joy, that is, until he saw the boy mount a creature he has only ever heard of in stories; a dragon. It was a fiery red, with its tail covered in shimmering, gold scaled. Its head looked a bit like a wolf mixed with a serpent. The blond boy kicked his spiked combat boots into the side of the beast. It let out a heart chilling, and rage filled roar. Jonathan's heart reached out for the animal.

Though he had no doubt that the creature would kill him, he felt sorry for it. He also had a feeling in his gut when the duo ascended into the sky, crashing through the trees. He yearned to ride the beast, but he was shaken out of his disturbing thoughts when Isis took a sharp left turn.

"What are you doing?" He yelled; they were going so fast that the air sounded like a howling storm.

If he could see the look on her face, he would have jumped off of her back, right then and there. Her face held an expression of a mad man about to jump off of a cliff, just for the thrill. This, by the way, was exactly what she was going to do. He could see them approaching an opening, and they were reaching the edge of the cliff. Trusting her to stop, he held her tight.

But she didn't stop; instead she jumped full speed off of the edge. His screams drowned out her crazed laughter. "Oh my god, we're going to die!" He shrieked, not ashamed of the tears he shed. Isis grabbed onto this hand and they fell though the sky. His eyes stung from the rush of air, and the skin of his face was being pushed back. Amidst the sound of rushing air, he also heard a flapping; turning to see what it was, he could see a white, serpent shaped dragon heading their way.

And while he screamed ever louder, Isis let out a laugh that sounded almost relieved. Jonathan could see the rider as he navigated the beast beneath them. His hair was a cobalt blue flame; literally. In place of were his left eye should be there was a little blue flame ball, the same as his "hair". Isis reached out her hand, and to his surprised, the rider grabbed it, swinging both of them onto the back of his dragon.

Landing with a hard thump, Jonathan felt a mixture of both relief and fear; however Isis seemed to having a great time. Laughing, she clapped the guy on the back, "Flit! You always pull through, buddy!" She laughed, and Flit looked back at Jonathan.

"Is that the boy?" His voice sounded like the crackle of a campfire. Isis's easy going demeanor quickly disappeared when he had mentioned Jonathan.

"Yes, just like the prophet had said; a youth that can talk to animals, and one who can tame the beasts." They couldn't be talking about him, he was just a kid. And he couldn't talk to animals, he was only able to talk to her because she was a girl; sort of. Jonathan was confused, and wanted to go home. His mother must've been worried sick.

"Where are we going?" He asked. "I want to go home," Jonathan didn't care that he sounded like a little kid, because he was, and he wanted to go home. They pair of creatures looked at him as if he were mad; the dragon made a sound that sounded like a scary chuckle.

"Don not worry young one, you are safe with me." The voice was one of an older woman, which he assumed to be the dragon. And though he knew it was her, he couldn't help but look around. "These two cannot hear me, but you can. What is your name, boy?" The dragon said gently.

"My name is Jonathan," speaking quietly, though the others could still hear him, and gave him a cautious look. "What is your name?" Jonathan could feel her back muscles flex beneath him. With that sudden movement, his legs clamped down in instinct. And a good thing too, since she did a nose dive towards the lake at the bottom of the mountain. In the midst of his screaming, he had heard her say.

"My name is Celeste, welcome young warrior, to the Land of Dragons."


	3. Fancy Creatures and a Giant Bird

"My name is Celeste, welcome young warrior, to the Land of Dragons." They all shot through the water, and Celeste swam like an eel, using her massive wings to propel herself. Jonathan opened his eyes in the water, and awed at the experience. So many amazing creatures of different hues and colors; tiny bubbles flitted across his face, and Isis's long black hair curled through the water like smoke. He held onto her waist so not to fall off.

The boy then saw a light, which puzzled him because they were heading down, not up. Lungs burning, he urged Celeste with his mind to hurry. At his command, her tail propelled them, and they sailed out of the water. With eyes wide open, Jonathan gulped in sweet tasting air. Isis had her hands clasped over his own, gasping as much as he was.

"I will never get use to that." The cat girl growled spitting up jewel colored water. Realizing how tightly he was holding her, Jonathan quickly released her. Glancing over her shoulder, Isis gave Jonathan a flirty smile, causing him to redden like a tomato. Dismounting from Celeste, he silently said his thanks and patted her on the head; though before he feared her, young Jonathan was now in awe.

Her scales before appeared to have been snow white, but standing now, and not screaming, he saw that they were tinged with soft lavender. Her eyes were silver, and the long wings, now rested against her flank, were tan like soft leather. He'd never seen something so fierce and beautiful, other than Isis.

"I must be going," she stated, then slid into the water.

"She's a water dragon," her rider, Flit said. "She'll stay there, and guard the entrance." Jonathan looked at the shadow of his new friend, and felt a pang of longing in his gut. He had felt the same when he saw that other boy's dragon as well.

"You feel it don't you?" Isis's voice said quietly, causing him to jump.

"What are you talking about?"

"You feel the need to fly, to ride. That is why I brought you here." She took him by the shoulders and turned him around. Jonathan's mouth dropped when he saw what was before him. Somehow they were standing upside down on the roof of an underwater cavern. And below him was the most beautiful city he had ever seen; there was a giant castle that seemed too big to even fit inside the cavern. Surrounding that castle was a massive village; a plethora of cabins, mansions, miniature castles, and huts made up the village.

There was an array of different types of creatures; some looked human, while others didn't. Though all of that to Jonathan was unimportant at that moment; his eyes we focused on the roof of the cavern. The arched, rock sky was filled with flying dragons; in various colors and patterns. He had never seen such a sight, though today he saw many strange things, this was the most wonderful. Isis smiled at his innocence, and walked towards a path leading towards the city.

Jonathan couldn't get over the mind bending day he was having; nothing seemed to make sense, yet he accepted it all. Stumbling after Isis, he took in everything he could. Creatures that he thought were fiction, were there flying, crawling, and walking around as if they'd always been there. Though he was a boy with an open mind, this may be too much for his young brain to process.

His mother had always told him that every story, myth and legend held a bit of truth. She was very right, but it seemed like every story, myth and legends were true. It made him think of the old gods in stories, and the many myths of heroes and monsters. Tonight he has seen monsters, and he didn't want to imagine what they would do if they found this place.

He quickly followed Isis down the rocky path, and they slowly made their way into the city. His eyes were constantly open, scanning and absorbing every detail he can. Jonathan desperately wished that he had his camera with him to record this for his mother. Reaching down, he plucked a neon blue flower nearest to him. It smelt like sweet honey, and it was softer than anything he had every felt. Reaching for a little notebook he always kept in his pocket, he pressed the flower inside of its pages.

As they were walking, a giant canary flew right above their heads. Isis hissed in annoyance, and Jonathan threw himself to the ground. He heard a deep chuckle from the bird, and saw a female rider on its back. She was the second most hideous thing he'd seen since he arrived in the crazy world with Isis. Her skin was the color of moss that grew on the beach, and seemed to be covered in what looked like barnacles. The woman's hair looked like seaweed, her hands were like crab claws, and her eyes were a dull, dead gray.

"Who is that," he whispered fearfully to Isis. She was still glaring and hissing at the woman as she landed her bird near them.

"My sister," Jonathan looked openly shocked, because when you compared the two Isis was far from looking like this woman. Glancing down at him she added, "Not by blood, only through marriage. Her father was a wealthy and handsome merman, and my mother fell in love with him." She growled at the idea. "Too bad he didn't leave that thing behind in the sea," As the woman approached, Jonathan could smell the pungent odor of seawater and rotting fish.

Though as she opened her mouth to greet them, her voice was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard in his life. She made him swoon and he knew that he was in love; that is, he thought he was until he heard Isis shout sharply in his mind. "She is a siren! Do not fall for her trickery! Her voice contains a spell, and if you fall for it, she will eat you." Shaking his head in disbelief, the young boy snapped out of the temporary love.

"I- I'm okay," He whispered to her. The woman's voice was now clear, and though it was still beautiful, Jonathan noticed the subtle flaws to it; the slight lisping hiss that sounded like waves crashing onto the sand, the squeaking to her "I"'s and "E"'s that sounded like a seagull's cry.

"Hello there dear sister," she spoke in a sensual whisper, "Who is this delicious looking thing?" Her barnacled eyebrow raised at him, and when she smiled she revealed shark-like teeth and blackened gums. Isis stood between them to block her view of Jonathan.

"He is none of your business," She hissed quietly, "now let us pass you oversized tuna." The woman's face contorted into a snarl.

"Listen pretty, little kitty cat; you better watch your back, or one day I'll be eating it." Her voice turned more seagull-like the more she became angry.

"Don't worry Tabatha; your stench will warn me of your presence." Shifting him around, Isis picked up the young boy, and jumped over a steaming Tabatha. And when they were a safe distance away, Jonathan spoke.

"Why don't you like her?" He asked cautiously; she went silent, and he knew that she wouldn't answer him. The rest of the walk was filled with the same awkward silence, and Jonathan couldn't help but feel as if he ruined their friendship. He felt stupid, because not having any friends before this, he didn't know what to do in that type of situation. The silence soon ended as they entered the busy city.

Merchants were selling their wares, and children ran the streets. Old beggars begged, and the finely dressed tossed coins of some sort. He felt as if he went back into time, but only a few of these "people" looked like people. There were lizards standing upright, dressed in suits and gowns of brightly colored velvets, cat people like Isis, he even saw a child with the head of a peanut.

The buildings and houses were also very beautiful, all differently colored and built. Some distorted in different directions, some floating in midair. Some houses were built in the sparse trees, or into the side face of the massive cavern. Jonathan also spotted pens where the dragons and flying creatures were being held. He desperately wanted to go there, but Isis cut a steady path through the busy, bumbling townsfolk.

They made their way to one of the floating houses. It was a bright, grass green, with pink shingles, and purple doors. And doors were all over the house. She explained this to me as we approached the house. Each one of the doors led to different caverns just like the one they were currently in.

"You and I need to go to the seventeenth cavern." She explained as she took the collar off of her neck. She pressed into a door that looked fairly newer than the others. "This is one of the newer sanctuaries; there are 201 in this world, and several others in the other dimensions," Jonathan new better to just accept what she said as fact, because he was sure that he would never understand a thing she was talking about any time soon. Pressing her collar into the door, Isis murmured something, and the door popped open. Jonathan frowned in disappointment.

"You were expecting a big light show?" Isis chuckled, the walked into the darkness beyond the door. She seemed to be swallowed up by the black. Swallowing his fear of the dark, Jonathan braving walked into the darkness; with his eyes closed. To him it felt as if a velvet-like liquid was surrounding his body, and he began to panic. He could hear Isis's voice in the distance telling him to be calm. And for what seemed like minute of walking through the thick darkness, Jonathan finally felt his hands come to rest on something that felt like a wooden door.

He quickly fell into the light as the door fell forward.


End file.
